Reference no: EM133313994

Case Study 1: Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, was born in Nepal around 563 BC. He was born a prince and given everything one could want in terms of material and physical pleasures. But his family kept him sequestered and sheltered; they did not want him to go out into the world. At the age of 29, though, he snuck out of the palace grounds to see what things were really like, and he was shocked by what he saw. Walking around, he came across people who were completely destitute; he saw people who were sick, diseased, and dying; he even saw a corpse. He quickly realized that the life he had lived so far had caused him to have no understanding of what life is really about, and he decided never to return home. He left everything behind and set out on a journey of self-discovery and knowledge, and, after many years, he discovered the truths of existence: existence is marked by suffering, suffering is caused by our desires, suffering can be overcome through the elimination of desires, and there is an 8-fold path to overcoming suffering and eliminating desires.

The 8-fold path is a way of ethical living. It is meant to move us away from the self-centeredness and selfishness that is the source of our suffering and move us toward complete selflessness. As we become more selfless, we desire less for ourselves, and our compassion for others increases. Of course, being selfless and compassionate will not prevent us from eventually losing people we love, or experiencing pain, sickness, and death. But we will be mentally and emotionally prepared for these moments, and we will not experience as much of the mental anguish and grief that we would have had we been more self-centered.

Question 1: What are your thoughts on this diagnosis and prescription for life? Are self-centeredness and personal desires the sources of suffering? Is achieving selflessness and compassion the best way for us to live?

Case Study 2: The ancient philosopher Confucius emphasizes the importance of respect, both self-respect and proper respect for others. Confucius says that we are naturally undisciplined, small-minded, and ignorant; these are all traits that make us unworthy of respect. However, we have the ability to transform ourselves through effort. We can turn ourselves into disciplined, wiser, moral people. By doing so, Confucius teaches, we make ourselves into beings worthy of self-respect and respect from others.

Earlier in class, we looked at the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, who also placed a strong emphasis on the importance of respect. For Kant, all human beings, by virtue of being human, are worthy of respect. Even a murderer, Kant claims, deserves to be treated with respect.

Question 2: There seems to be some tension between these two accounts of respect. Which seems more correct to you: Confucius's view that respect is something that has to be earned by our own success at personal self-transformation, or Kant's view that being human is enough to deserve respect from others?